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As we start drilling at absolutely nothing in particular, I can’t help but giggle. The drill is so powerful I can feel my entire body shaking; if it wasn’t for Chuck, I’d be drilling my way to New Zealand by now.

The photographer snaps a couple of photos and it’s over in an instant.

‘Thank you for your help,’ I tell Chuck as I hand him his hard hat back – hopefully it didn’t do too much damage to my hair.

‘You’re welcome,’ he replies. ‘If you⁠—’

‘Excuse me,’ Si interrupts us. ‘I just need to borrow Lia for a moment.’

‘No worries,’ Chuck replies as he watches Si drag me away from the crowd.

‘Lia—’

‘Oh, so you are still talking to me,’ I interrupt.

‘Lia, look, Mum asked me to have a word with you, she said you were rude to her.’

‘I was rude to her?’ I reply.

‘Yeah, and I don’t think wearing an outfit like that, and flirting with a builder, is doing much to impress her either,’ he adds.

I glance down at my haunted cowgirl get-up. I’m not actually flashing that much skin. Sure, you can see my legs, but only as much as you’d expect considering I’m wearing shorts, and my shirt covers me; it’s not like my bra is on show.

‘Well, it’s a Halloween party, so I came dressed up,’ I remind him. ‘And my boss wanted people to “do work” for photo ops, and no one else wanted to, so she talked me into it. This is a fundraiser, not a porno.’

‘I know,’ he starts, but I don’t let him finish.

‘And I’m not trying to impress her – why would I be trying to impress her?’

‘It’s just, you know, we’re all living in her house, technically,’ he says. ‘If she speaks to you again, will you be nice?’

I grit my teeth for a moment, and then I smile.

‘Sure,’ I say sweetly.

With my champagne buzz wearing off and a few hours still to go, there’s only one thing for it… Time to prop up the bar.

40

As I throw back the last of my vodka and orange, I notice Lorraine, out of the corner of my eye, here for round two.

‘Oh dear, getting drunk at a fundraiser is not a good look for a young woman,’ she points out.

‘I haven’t had much yet so…’ I wave at the barman. ‘Another one of these, please.’

‘I think she’s had enough,’ Lorraine insists.

‘You got that right,’ I say with a sigh. ‘I would like another drink though.’

‘Do you think you might have a drink problem?’ she asks in a faux sweet tone.

‘Yeah, my problem is that I don’t have a drink,’ I reply.

‘I mean a problem with your drinking,’ Lorraine insists.

I roll my eyes.

‘It sounds like you’re the one who has a problem with my drinking, Lorraine,’ I point out. ‘Come on, what’s your issue?’